No More Pretend
by StrollingPlayer
Summary: AU. After leaving the Dollhouse in, Vows, Claire has a run in with Alpha.
1. Chapter 1

**This was inspired by an Alpha/Whiskey fanvid I saw, but I decided to go ahead and write it for Whiskey's Original Personality's challenge.**

**Chapter Songs**

**Bad Romance- Lady Gaga, Monster- Lady Gaga, A Dangerous Mind- Within Temptation (fits Alpha really well).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse...unfortunately Joss has yet to put it on Ebay or Craig's List.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

Claire Saunders (or Whiskey, which was her active name) drove through the busy streets of L.A., not quite sure what to do with herself. She had never been this far from the Dollhouse since she began working there, or at least according to her memory she hadn't.

Boyd had suggested she get out and she had initially rejected the idea, but then she started to think over what he said. She never did go outside the Dollhouse. She never even had the urge. That's when Claire started to realize that she had been _programmed_ not to want to go out. Wanting to prove to herself that she really was her own person, Claire ventured out into the real world thinking that if she could come to hate Topher on her own then she could certainly go out for a drive.

Just a simple drive proved more difficult than she initially thought, though. The farther she drove the more anxious she became. After almost being sideswiped because she wasn't paying attention Claire knew she had to pull over.

She decided to stop at one of the many outdoor cafés. Perhaps maybe a cup of coffee could help clear her head and ebb away the anxiety eating at the inside of her stomach.

After ordering herself a cup of coffee Claire settled down at a table, feeling slightly more relaxed as she sipped her drink, at least until...

"Enjoying your coffee," came a voice she knew all too well. It appeared often enough in her nightmares. Claire gripped her coffee cup so tightly that she thought it might burst as she turned around, already knowing who she would see.

Alpha stood behind her, smirking, clearly enjoying the look of fear and horror on her face. He was dressed nicer than Claire would have expected of a man who was being hunted down by the Dollhouse. He wore a dark pair of Levi jeans with a navy blue shirt that brought out his eyes nicely, and a black leather jacket.

"Mind if I sit down," he asked in mock politeness.

Claire swallowed hard, trying to keep herself from becoming hysterical. _Just calm down, _she told herself. _Alpha wouldn't attack you in broad daylight surrounded in a public place._

_He can hurt you in other ways than just physically, _a voice in her head said, and Claire couldn't help but think back to the conversation they previously had when Alpha had alluded to her being an active.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded curtly to the chair across from her.

"So," Alpha said, sitting down, "still playing the good doctor?"

"I'm not playing anything," she said in a quiet voice, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Really," he asked amusement evident in his voice.

Claire heaved a deep sigh. "I know the truth, Alpha." She wasn't going to let him toy with her like he did last time. "I know I'm a doll."

Alpha's smirk widened as he reclined in his chair perfectly at ease. "Well, so little Whiskey knows the truth. You're smarter than I originally gave you credit for."

Claire felt a wave of anger at the superior tone in his voice. Feeling a surge of confidence, she looked up from her coffee cup and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm sure there are a lot of things about me that would surprise you,"

A look of surprise briefly crossed Alpha's features, and then his smirk turned into a grin. He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I'm here outside the Dollhouse aren't I?" She gestured toward the cafe and the rest of the outside world in general.

"That's not too difficult. Technically you are an employee. You could do that on your lunch break."

"Not when it's against your programming," she told him quietly. "I want to be my own person, not just Topher Brink's creation. That's why I didn't open the file about my original personality." Claire's eyes had wandered away from Alpha and she was now staring off into the distance, caught up in her own words.

When she flicked her eyes back to him she thought she saw a flash of respect in his eyes before it was replaced by something else. He stared at her intently, and she could almost see the gears turning in his head.

She felt her confidence fade away until it was once again replaced by fear and apprehension. Alpha planning was something to be wary of, especially when she was usually caught in the middle of his plans.

"I have a place not far from here," he said after a few minutes of silence.

Claire blinked a few times in surprise. "What?" She asked, taken aback, then warily, "Are you trying to pick me up?"

Alpha chuckled. "Not unless you're offering."

She bristled at his words. "Of course not, don't make me sick."

Alpha stopped laughing, though he was still grinning. "Now, now, Whiskey," he chided. "There's no need to be rude, especially to the person offering you a place to stay."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, unless you want to go back to the Dollhouse."

She scoffed, not believing what she was hearing. "So that's my choice? Being doctor for a bunch of high class pimps or lice with a schizophrenic, sociopath, serial killer?"

He shrugged. "At least with me you could be your own person."

"But with them I wouldn't have to worry about waking up with a knife at my throat."

"Adelle can do worse," he informed her calmly. "There's always the attic. Speaking of which, does Mrs. DeWitt know about your little lunch break?"

Claire felt a chill go down her spine at the mention of the attic, but she refused to let Alpha get to her. "I could always just leave on my own. I wouldn't need you to do it."

"No, but it would be a hell of a lot easier with me. Remember, I've had much more practice than you, not to mention the necessary skills for evading the Dollhouse."

When Claire didn't say anything he stood up from his chair with a sigh. "Fine. Have it your way."

Claire bit her lip as he walked away. On the one hand she could go with him and escape all the painful reminders at the Dollhouse that she was just another one of Topher's creations. But, then, on the other hand Alpha was the same monster that had brutally slashed her face, not to mention Victor's.

She stood from her chair knowing, despite everything, what she wanted.

"Wait." She ran after Alpha who was already halfway down the sidewalk. He turned at the sound of her voice.

"Change your mind," he asked with a grin, as she approached him.

"I'll give it a try," she said folding her arms.

"Well, then," he, grinning. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm in a gentlemanly fashion.

Claire looked at it for a moment, then turned and began walking. Behind her she heard Alpha chuckle as he took the lead, directing her where to go.

Despite his calm behavior, she was still wary of him, though. With Alpha you never knew.

* * *

**So, this is going to be a very short story. There will probably be, about, two more chapters.**

**P.S. For those who read my other Dollhouse fic, Evolution, I'm almost done with the next chapter, then I have to send it to my beta. So it'll probably be up by the end of this week, depending on my beta.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, remember when I said this wold probably be three chapters all together? Yea, well I did some planning and it turns out this will probably be about five chapters instead. **

**Thank you everyone who has review, subscribed, or favorited this. It really is appreciated since I didn't think this fic would generate much interest. :)**

**Chapter Songs**

**Under the Iron Sky-for the movie Iron Sky, Everybody's gottta learn sometime- The Korgis**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

It was strange living with the man who had haunted her nightmares for so long. At first she hadn't been able to sleep properly through the night since every little noise made her certain Alpha or some agent of the Dollhouse was coming to kill her. After two weeks of living with Alpha Claire felt herself relaxing a little.

She had begun to realize that as long as he wasn't angry, and had something to occupy himself with, that he was fine, or as fine as Alpha could be. Sure, he tended to jump from one subject to the next at random, and ramble on about things, but what else could you expect of a man who had forty-eight personalities?

Claire finished getting ready for the day, and exited her bedroom (Alpha made enough money of his side-jobs to afford a two bedroom apartment) intending to make a pot of coffee.

Alpha was already up, watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the third time since she'd started living with him.

"Are you watching that again," she asked walking into the kitchen that adjoined the living room.

"I like to start off the day with a laugh," he replied, not taking his eyes of the screen.

Claire smiled in spite of herself as she fixed herself a pot of coffee. When it was done she poured herself a mug, and sat herself down in the armchair. Alpha began cracking up at the Knights Who Say Nee.

"I never understood what was so funny," Claire mused, staring at the screen, her brow slightly crinkled.

Alpha looked at her, still laughing. "How can you not find that funny? It's hilarious!" He stopped laughing and gave her a half shrug. "Oh, well. I guess you either get it or you don't."

"I guess," she mumbled, still trying to figure out what could be so funny about the Knights having to get a shrubbery.

"Are you still doing that computer job for what's his name," Claire asked after a few moments.

Alpha looked over at her mid-laugh. "Yes, actually I just finished." He stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"You know, I've been thinking of getting a job myself," she said.

Alpha let out a laugh as he poured his coffee. "How? What, you think you can just walk into a hospital and apply for a job? The Dollhouse would find you within a day, and then you'd be on your way to the attic."

"I realize that," she said, somewhat annoyed. Did he really think she was that stupid? "That's why I won't be getting an official job. I heard the woman down the hall needs a baby-sitter so I'm going to talk to her about it."

"Why do you want a job," he asked, perplexed. "I make enough money to support both of us."

"Yes, but I don't want to rely solely on you. Besides, I'm sick of doing nothing all day."

"You do things," he said, sitting back down on the couch. "You clean the house and do the laundry."

Claire gave him a look that was somewhere between annoyed and exasperated. "I mean things other than house work, Alpha."

"And you think that chasing a bunch of kids around all day will be more fun?"

She shrugged. "Sure, I like kids."

He shook his head. "Whatever you say, but if you really are that bored I can think of a few interesting things we can do." He smirked at her suggestively, as he looked her up and down.

She gave him a withering look. "I'll pass thanks."

Alpha grinned. "Oh, come on Whiskey I saw you looking at me coming out of the shower with nothing but a towel on."

"I was just passing you in the hall! It's not like I was checking you out," she insisted, outraged. "And I told you to stop calling me Whiskey, _Karl._"

Alpha's eyes flashed as all the humor was wiped clean from his face, instead replaced by a cold fury. Claire swallowed hard. Fear spread through her veins like ice cold water, and she realized that she had gone too far.

"Don't ever call me that," he told her in a low, cold voice. "Karl Craft was a weak, pathetic creature. He doesn't exist anymore, _I_ do. Call me that again and the attic won't seem so bad, understand?"

Claire nodded mutely, fear having stolen her voice away.

"Good." With that he got up, and walked out of the living room and into the hallway. A door slammed and Claire let out a breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

_I have to be more careful what I say to him, _she realized. Feeling the need to get some air, Claire put on her shoes and headed out the door.

It was early evening when Claire came back to the apartment. She had spent most of the day in the park, just sitting and enjoying the fresh air. On her way back she had talked to Mrs. Leah and agreed to baby-sit her kids during the week.

When she got to the door she hesitated for a moment before entering. She wasn't sure if Alpha had gotten over what happened earlier that day. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and walked through the foyer. "Alpha," she called.

He came walking out from the hallway dressed in a pair of dress pants, and a burgundy button up shirt that was rolled up to the elbows. "There you are. Come on, we're going to dinner."

"I- we're what?" Claire was utterly perplexed. She knew very well that Alpha was prone to extreme mood swings, but going from threatening her life to taking her out to dinner was a bit much even for.

"You heard me," he said grabbing a set of car keys.

"Why," she asked, surprise keeping her rooted to the spot.

He shrugged. "Why not? I won't bite, scout's honor."

Claire looked at him, unsure of whether or not to go. She was still frightened of him after what happened earlier that day, but now that he seemed calm again she didn't want to agitate him by turning down his offer.

She sighed deeply. "Alright, fine."

He grinned. "Excellent"

The restaurant was in a nice, urban area of Las Angeles. Claire and Alpha were seated in the back where they weren't many people so they were able to talk freely without anyone overhearing.

"Do you remember anything about being a Doll," Alpha asked once they had placed their orders.

Claire looked at him, a bit taken aback, especially since he hadn't said a word since leaving the apartment. "No, I don't remember anything other than being Claire Saunders," she admitted.

"Hmmm..." Alpha drummed his fingers on the table, as he studied her. "You don't even remember about the day I gave you those scars," he whispered, leaning in closer to her.

Claire felt a small chill go down her spine as she tried to hold his intent gaze. "No," she said in a flat voice, and she had to stop herself from reaching up and touching the scars that marred her face. "I remember it as Claire, not Whiskey."

"And how do you remember it, as Claire," he murmured, his gaze unwavering.

She sighed, looking down at her hands. It would be easier for her to talk it when she didn't have to look at the man who had caused so much pain for her that day. None the less, she could still feel his gaze on her as she began to speak.

"I was in my office, doing some paperwork, when I heard yelling coming from upstairs. So, I left my office to see what all the commotion was. I could see lab assistants running about in the imprinting room, which I knew was an unusual amount of activity unless there was a new active, which, there wasn't. I started climbing up the stairs to see what was going on, then I heard screaming and Topher shouting, so I started running up the stairs, knowing something wasn't right."

Claire felt her throat constrict as she came to the next part. One would think that knowing it wasn't a real memory would make it less painful to remember, but it only made it worse. "When I came into the imprinting room I could see your handler, Blevins, on the floor, and then I asked Topher what the hell was going on. That's when you sat up in the chair; you still had Blevins blood on your face. You grabbed me by the shirt, and then took a pocket knife that had been lying on the counter and cut up my face."

Claire continued to stare at her hands after she had finished, continuing to go over the events as she remembered them in her head. According to her memories she had blacked out from the pain after Alpha attacked her. After a few minutes she had woken up to find the bodies of some of the lab techs lying near her and the Dollhouse in complete chaos.

"Interesting." Claire snapped out of her reverie and looked up to see Alpha leaning back in his chair, hands interlaced behind his head. 'Interesting', it was the same word he had used during his first interrogation with her, but this time there was no condescending undertone in his expression.

"Topher did his job well," he told her. "That is exactly what happened to the real Dr. Saunders. Except of course that I killed him rather than just slash his face."

He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. "Do you want to hear what really happened," he whispered confidentially.

For a moment Claire hesitated. A fake memory of the incident was bad enough, but hearing about what really happened to her, and especially from Alpha, would be worse, much worse.

_You need to hear this, _Claire told herself. _How can you expect to get over the fact you're a Doll if you insist on living with a fake memory rather than the truth._

Swallowing hard Claire nodded. "Go ahead," she told him, keeping her voice calm and business like.

Alpha regarded her with a certain amount of interest before speaking. "We were working on our bonsai plants. That's when the instructor came up to you to and told you that it was time for your, 'treatment'. While you were cleaning up your station I overheard the instructor and your handler talking about how much you were requested. They said that you were, 'number one'." There was a faint, scornful tone to his voice as he said the last part.

"Well, I didn't like that. I wanted Echo to be the best, so I took my scissors and walked over to you with them. I figured that if you weren't so pretty that maybe Echo would be number one instead. Right before I started to cut your face, I asked you to let Echo to be number one." Alpha eyes had become unfocused on her. Instead he was staring beyond her, presumably at the memory that was undoubted playing inside his head.

"It's a bit of a blur after that, the cutting part I mean. I remember what happened once they put me in the chair clearly, but when I was cutting you..." He wrinkled his brow slightly, as if confused by his own memory. Claire wondered briefly if this was the first time he had actually gone over what had happened that day.

"It was like I was in frenzy," he continued. "I_ was _in frenzy, actually. For a moment it wasn't about Echo, I was just making art."

Alpha continued looking out into nothing for a few more moments before clearing his throat, and focusing his attention back on Claire. "Now you know. How do you feel?"

Claire struggled to contain herself, and tried to really process the emotions running through her. "It's, a bit...enlightening to know what really happened," she began slowly, "but it..." She let the sentence trail off as she became overwhelmed with emotion. While part of her was glad to hear the truth, the rest of her felt as though she had been forced to live the attack all over again.

"You need a drink don't you," Alpha asked, an expression of pity in his face as he saw how upset she had become.

Claire opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again as a rebellious tear trickled down her face.

"Yep, you definitely need some alcohol." Alpha waved over their waitress and ordered a beer; she told him it would be right up, though not before casting Claire a worried look.

In an attempt to calm herself, Claire rested her head in hr hands and took several deep breaths. When she looked back up Alpha was staring at her curiously. "So, tell me," She asked, "why did I decide to live with you again?"

Alpha's mouth quirked into a grin. "I suppose it's because of my charming personalities."

Claire smiled a little bit, then looked down at the table, her smile disappearing. "Or maybe I'm just as crazy as you are," she murmured.

A few hours later Alpha was changing into his night clothes in his room. It had been an interesting evening, to say the least, though Whiskey hadn't said much during the meal.

She had definitely shown more potential than he had originally thought she was capable of. Most would be content to live in blissful ignorance, but not her. It had taken courage to leave like she did and try to act outside the Dollhouse's programming. It was that spark of independence that had prompted him to let her live with him. For the most part it had turned out to be more interesting than he could have predicted.

Alpha walked into the kitchen to get a drink before heading to bed when he noticed Whiskey lying on the couch. He frowned, he had seen her lie down on it as soon as they got home but he thought she would have gone to bed by down. Walking around to the front of the couch he could see that she had fallen asleep right there on the couch. Judging from her breathing it was a deep sleep too.

At first he was just going to wake her up, but then he noticed the peaceful expression on her face and decided that it would be best just to carry her to her bed. Carefully sliding his hands under her, he neatly lifted her up and held her against his chest so that she wouldn't be jostled when he walked. She made a small noise, but didn't stir.

Taking slow, small, steps he carried her in to her room where he laid her down gently on the bed. He was about to turn to leave when he saw how the moonlight spilling in from the window illuminated her features. The way the moonlight made her hair shine dimly, and seemed to make her skin glow reminded him of sleeping beauty. The scars on her face looked paler, as if someone had just marked them on there with pencil, instead of a sharp pair of scissors.

He reached out with his hand to touch the place on her cheek where one of her scars were, but quickly drew back when she sighed in her sleep and turned over. He left the room, closing the door, swiftly, behind him. For a few seconds he just stood outside her door, staring into nothing when one of his more sinister personalities spoke up.

_You're going soft, _it sneered.

"Shut up," he growled, not up to an argument with one of his personalities.

* * *

**So, there was a little treat for all you Whiskey/Alpha shippers. Enjoy it, savour it, because there probably won't be a lot of that in the next chapter.**

**Until next time, tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am literally leaving for the weekend in two minutes, so I didn't have a lot of time to look over this for mistakes, so please bare with me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"No, the knight has to move in an 'L' shape." Alpha and Claire sat crossed-legged at the coffee table; a chess board set up in-between them.

"Why it is that all the pieces in this game have to move in a different direction," Claire asked, exasperated by the games many rules. "What's wrong with them all being able to move in any direction?"

"Because," Alpha began, sounding as if he were speaking to a child. "It makes the game more interesting, it would be boring if all the pieces moved in the same direction."

"That's how they do it in checkers, and that is a perfectly entertaining game."

"Yes, but this is a game of skill," he insisted. "You have to carefully plan out each move, strategize."

"That explains why you would like it," Claire told him. "Everyone knows how much you like to, 'strategize', or, 'scheme', as some might call it."

"It's not that I enjoy it," he said, grinning. "It's that I'm just so good at it."

"Which is why I'm going to save myself the headache and surrender." She got up from her spot on the floor and took a seat on the couch.

"Well, looks like I'll be playing chess with myself."

Claire gave him an apologetic smile, and then furrowed her brow when she saw that Alpha had begun playing both sides of the chess board. "You're actually going to play chess, against yourself?"

Alpha looked over at her, as if _she_ were the crazy one. "Yes, I have forty-eight personalities you know. It is possible for me to play against myself."

"But...won't you know every move the other personality is going to make?"

"Not unless I try to. I've done this with a game of tic-tac-toe before, and it worked out fine."

Claire shook her head in exasperation, and decided that watching the news would be less of a headache than pondering how Alpha's mind worked (though she was tempted to ask who won the game of tic-tac-toe).

She turned on the T.V. To CNN. There seemed to be some kind of press conference going on. It looked like the usual ensemble of politicians and press that you usually saw at those kinds of things. Out of all the faces in the crowd on the screen Claire spotted one that sent a jolt of recognition through her.

"Oh my god," she breathed.

"What is it," Alpha asked, so absorbed in his game that he didn't even bother looking up.

"It's Madeline," she whispered, shocked at seeing the young woman at a government press conference. Didn't she realize what would happen if she even _hinted_ at the Dollhouse's existence?

"Who the hell is Madeline?"

"She used to be the Dollhouse's, November," she answered, unable to tear her gaze away from the screen.

This seemed to pique Alpha's interest enough so that he looked up from his game and began watching what was unfolding on screen.

Out of no where a man in a brown leather jacket came onto the screen. Claire recognized him as Senator Perrin. A man, not unlike Paul Ballard, who had made it his personal mission to discover and bring down the Dollhouse. He looked more flustered than Claire remembered ever have seeing him.

"_I apologize to the committee for," _he paused, as if finding it difficult to speak, but then continued. _"My wife is dead." _

There was uproar of questions, but he again ignored them.

"_I really don't want to be here today, but I'm afraid I won't get another chance to tell the truth. I set out looking for a conspiracy and I found something that...The Rossum Corporation is the most powerful medical research company in the world, but there's something else as well."_

Alpha took a seat beside Claire on the couch, and turned the volume up on the television,

"_For the past several years Rossum has been a target, a target of a contortion of companies that will stop at nothing to undermine Rossum and take its place in the medical community. They set me on Rossum, and when I discovered the truth they put a bomb in my car. A car Cindy took to stop by the family compound."_

There were many sounds of sympathy from the crowd as he said this.

"_I- I uh..." _He struggled for a few seconds to find the words, and then stood. _"My wife was a victim; there have been hundreds of others. This woman, Madeline Costely, is a victim; of their manipulations and her own delusions."_

Claire's eyebrows shot up in shock, at his harsh words.

"_There. Is. No. Dollhouse. No, sex slaves. No, underground fortress. Madeline Costely spent the last three years in a mental institution in Canada."_

Madeline rose from her seat in desperation. _"No, you know I was there."_

"_I have documentation to prove it; in fact I have documentation on all the companies involved in this...travesty. There is abuse here. Not the lurid, pulp fantasy that was drilled into this unstable mind, but something more insidious, something that has cost this country millions. Something that has cost me..." _He looked down for a moment before finishing in a small voice. _"Everything."_

With that, he dropped the microphone, and walked out of the room, with a flurry of questions being thrown at him by the press.

Before the camera moved to follow his exit, Claire was able to catch a glimpse of Madeline's tear-streaked face. The poor girl, she knew for certain that would be apprehended by the Dollhouse and wiped.

Alpha turned the television off, his expression was contemplative, just like it was when he was playing chess.

"Of course," Claire heard him murmur. "That explains where they've been."

Claire looked at him in bewilderment. "What?"

Alpha glanced over at her as if suddenly remembering she was there. "Echo has been out on an engagement in Washington D.C. For a few days." He gestured to the television. "That explains why."

She was tempted to ask how he knew that Echo was on an engagement, but decided that it probably involved some heavy computer hacking which she wouldn't understand and that she was better off not knowing.

Alpha stood from the couch, and walked off to his room, muttering to himself. Claire felt a wave of uneasiness come over her, as she watched him go, wondering what exactly he was planning.

A week later Claire came home from her job to find a note tape to the refrigerator door.

_Dear Claire,_

_Gone to D.C. For a while.  
Sincerely.  
A_

Claire felt like she should have seen this coming. After all, Alpha had spent most of the past week in his room, and when he did come out (usually for food) he was talking to himself. Obviously he had been planning something.

Still, Claire couldn't help but feel hurt at his sudden departure. Despite his past atrocities to her and others he was still the only person she could talk to, now, with him gone there would be no one she could talk freely.

Claire's mind quickly turned to other matters as she tried to figure out how she was going to provide for herself with just baby-sitting money. That is, until she found the envelope on the counter with enough money to pay the rent for at least two months.

Weeks went by without a word from him, before Claire knew it two months had come and gone, and still she hadn't heard anything from Alpha. At first Claire deluded herself into thinking that he would only be gone for a week, and that the money was only a precaution in case he was gone longer. But after he had been gone for a month she realized that whatever was keeping him occupied in D.C. was a long term engagement. Soon the entire summer had gone by, and Claire was finding it difficult to keep up with the bills on her own.

Claire came home after a particularly tough day at work. One of the children had been sick, resulting in her having to play nurse as well as chase the other two children around the house. To make matters worse the landlord had politely—and somewhat condescendingly- informed her that the rent was over due, the money Alpha had left her having run out last month.

With a groan, Claire flopped face first onto the couch. She wondered if Alpha was still in D.C. Or if he had moved else where. Where ever he was, it was certain to be where Echo was. Like it or not, she knew that was the reason he had decided to go all the way across the country, and no matter how often she told herself she didn't care , she her heart always felt heavy when she thought of the way Alpha chased after Echo. A feeling she choose to ignore rather than ponder the meaning behind it.

She turned onto her back and simply stared at the ceiling for a few moments, thinking of nothing in particular, before deciding that what she needed was a shower. Nothing would calm her more than a nice hot shower; or maybe that was just a product of being a Doll. The Dolls certainly did love their showers, though; then again there wasn't much they didn't enjoy.

Twenty minutes later Claire stood in the middle of her bedroom, putting on her pajamas; a simple long, white T-shirt that went down to her knees. She was about to climb into bed when she heard something that sounded suspiciously like footsteps. Her heart began to accelerate as her mind jumped to the usual conclusion that one draws up when they hear noises in their house. Had someone broken in? Claire tried desperately to remember whether or not she had locked the door behind her, but fear clouded her mind, making her memory fuzzy.

_It might not be a burglar, _she reasoned with herself. It_ could be-_

Claire shook her head, refusing to let her thoughts go _there_, and get her hopes up. It was then that she realized just how much she actually wanted him to come back, and not just for the financial support. For a moment Claire wondered in bewilderment, when she had grown so attached to the man that had slashed her face. A soft thump coming from the living room quickly brought her back to reality, prompting her to bend down and grab the baseball bat she kept under her bed for such occasions. Of course, most people would have immediately called the cops, but if there was a sure way of the Dollhouse locating her it was a police report.

Holding the bat in a ready position, Claire quietly and tentatively crept out of her bedroom. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she came to the end of the hall, and she tightened her grip on the bat as she stepped out of the hallway.

The living room was empty, but then she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, She quickly whipped around to face the figure in her kitchen.

"A baseball bat? Really? How exactly would that have helped if I had been a burglar with a gun?" Alpha leaned against the counter, a stoic expression on his face as he took a swig from the Jack Daniels bottle he held.

Claire let out a deep sigh of relief, and her shoulders dropped as the tension let her body. "You scared the hell out of me," she told him, though it didn't come out sounding nearly as angry as she would have liked.

Alpha didn't reply he just remained silent as she toss the baseball bat on the couch and turned the lights on. Now that there was light Claire was able to see the large bruise that had formed on his cheek, making the skin a dark purple.

"What happened," she asked quietly, stranding into the kitchen to get a better look at his face.

Alpha gave her a humorless smile. "Echo was a little upset over what I did to her boyfriend."

Claire gave him a confused look. "Boyfriend? Are you talking about one of her clients?"

The side of his mouth twisted into a sneer. "No, I'm talking about the self-righteous bastard I used to get to her."

"Paul." She sighed, and then wondered, with a sense of dread, what he had done to him. Did he cut up his face like he had Victor's? She was tempted to ask, but she remembered how Alpha had described the scars he had given her, and decided that she really didn't want to know.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he grumbled, setting the bottle on the counter. As he was walking away Claire noticed the large goose egg on the back of his head.

"Wait a second," she called after him.

He turned a slightly annoyed expression on his face. "What."

She walked up to him. "I need to take a look at the back of your head," she murmured, trying to turn his head so that she could examine the back more closely.

"its fine," he snapped, knocking her hand away.

Normally Claire would have backed down when he started to get annoyed, for fear of setting him off, but her Doctor instincts were overriding any apprehension she felt.

"No, it's not fine," she insisted. "Now, just let me take a quick look at your head."

Sighing, he turned hi back to her, allowing her a full view of the back of his head. She stood on her toes to get a good look. His hair was matted with some blood right on top of the bump, but nothing that would require anything other than ice.

"Go ahead and sit on the couch, you're going to need some ice on that."

He sighed once more in exasperation, but did as she said and took a seat on the couch.

Claire grabbed some ice from the freezer, than wrapped it in a dish towel and brought it over to Alpha. She pressed it lightly to the back of his head. "Hold that there for a few minutes."

He reached up and held the make-shift ice-pack to his head, brushing her fingers with his own as he did so.

"I'm guessing you got that in your fight with Echo," she asked, sitting down next to him.

"Let's just say that we both had a little fall out of the window overlooking the main area."

Claire's mouth fell open in shock. "My god, I'm surprised you walked away with just a bump and some bruises. Then again though, you probably have concussion."

"I do have one or two doctors in here, you don't have to give me a check up," Alpha remarked dryly.

"At least let me take another look at your head," she said, pushing aside the ice-pack he was holding to his head. Alpha reluctantly turned his head so that she could get a better view.

"The swelling's gone down a bit. You probably shouldn't go to bed for a few hours, in case you do have a concussion."

"Thanks for the tip," he muttered, turning his head back to face her.

Claire bristled at his words, and her pent up frustration from the last four months boiled over. "You could stand to be a little bit nicer," she hissed. "For god's sake I've been trying to live off of baby-sitting money for over a month now, not to mention wondering where the hell you were, and if you were alright. Now, I'm _trying _to help you, so the least you can do is not be an ass about it."

Claire expected Alpha to react angrily to her little outburst; she certainly didn't expect him to start smirking.

"What," she asked warily.

Alpha regarded her with amusement. "You were worried about me?"

Claire started, realizing that maybe she had said too much. Pushing down her embarrassment, she struggled to keep her face smooth and professional- like. "I never said that."

"You may as well have," he told her, his eyes boring into hers. For the first time Claire realized how close they were, his face was only a few, mere, inches away from hers. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Claire turned her gaze from his, and attempted to get up, only to be pulled back down by Alpha.

"Don't," he murmured, pulling her into a kiss. Claire let out an inaudible gasp as he did so. She attempted to pull away, but this only caused Alpha to tighten his hold on her. Claire slowly began to return the kiss, surprised that she was actually enjoying it.

Alpha wrapped his arms around her, and lowered them both so that they were lying down. Claire wrapped her own arms around him, deepening the kiss.

They continued this for a few minutes, and then Alpha began to move his hand up her thigh, moving her T-shirt up as he did so. Feeling uncomfortable with the action, Claire reached down and grabbed his hand, stopping him from going any further.

Alpha broke apart from her, his brow slightly wrinkled. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready for that," she told him in a quiet voice, pulling his hand away from her thigh.

"You're joking right," he asked scornfully.

Claire looked at him in disbelief and hurt. "What?"

"'I'm not ready for that?' It's not like you're some high school girl who's never done it before. You've been in this situation many times. In fact, if I recall correctly you and I have almost slept together quite a few times during several dual engagements."

Claire couldn't believe that just a few seconds ago she had actually been kissing him. It was obvious to her now that he had just wanted her because he couldn't have Echo. She gave him a disgusted look. "Do you want to know why Echo prefers Paul over you?"

Alpha's face darkened. "Do tell," he prompted in a, low, steely voice.

The still rational part of Claire's brain was telling her not to continue, that she would only result in pain. But Claire was no longer thinking with her brain. She was too angry, too hurt. "Paul is actually a good man, with a sense of morals. You, on the other hand, are nothing but a murdering psychopath."

Alpha regarded her with what seemed like a calm expression, but she could sense the rage simmering beneath his calm demeanor. His blue eyes were so cold and cruel looking that it sent a chill down her spine.

"You think that's all I am," he asked her in a quiet voice, which had a steely edge to it.

It was then that Claire realized that it had been a grave mistake to goad him. She tried to think of something to say to diffuse the situation, but the fear made her throat close up.

"I-I..." was all she was able to get out."

"Maybe we should test that theory of yours out," he hissed. Before Claire could comprehend his words, his hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat.

He leered at her as his hand squeezed tighter and tighter around her throat, cutting off all air. Claire desperately clawed at Alpha's arm, while futilely gasping for air.

_This is it, _she thought grimly. _He's really going to kill me._

She began to lose all feeling in her limbs, and the edges of her vision began to darken. A drowsy feeling came over her, and it almost started to feel...nice.

Right when she was on the edge of unconsciousness, however, something changed. Alpha's leering expression turned into that of a grimace. He let out a groan between clenched teeth, and his hand dropped from Claire's throat. She gasped, taking in much needed oxygen.

Alpha's grimace relaxed and he took in a few deep breaths before quickly standing from the couch. "I'm sorry," he murmured, then walked off into his room.

Claire slowly sat up biting down on her trembling lips to keep from sobbing. Grabbing the baseball bat from where it lay on the couch she scurried from the couch into her room, making sure to lock the door behind her.

Gently massaging her now bruised throat, Claire crawled into be, placing the bat beside her. She pulled her knees up to her chin and buried her face in them, as if she could protect herself that way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Right, I know I should be working on Evolution, but this is a pretty short chapter so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post this first.**

**Chapter song: Wicked Game-Three Days Grace cover.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse...there's always Christmas though.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four**

Alpha was not able to get to sleep until, at least three in the morning. Which, when he thought about it, was probably a good thing, because he was sure Whiskey (or Claire as she stubbornly insisted on calling herself) was right about him having a concussion.

When he did finally wake up, he saw by the alarm clock, that it was eleven'o clock already. Bright sunlight filtered through the window, stinging his eyes, prompting him to turn his back to the window and pull the covers over his head.

Even the small action of turning over caused a throbbing pain to spread over his body, a result of his fight with Echo the previous day. With a small sigh Alpha turned so that he was lying on his back. Resting an arm on his forehead in order to shield his eyes from the light, Alpha stared up at the ceiling, knowing that he wouldn't be able to drift off to sleep.

As he lay there Alpha went over the events that had occurred yesterday. The conversation with DeWitt, turning the Actives against the Dollhouse personnel (a memory that brought a satisfied smile to his face), and his battle with Echo. Alpha frowned when he thought about what had occurred between him and Whiskey.

Over the past months she had turned out to be a sometimes enjoyable companion to him, even intriguing with her mission to be her own person. He hadn't counted on forming an attachment to her, though. Instead of just leaving her by herself and moving on he had come back. Maybe it was because he was still reeling from the fight with Echo, but when he had left the Dollhouse, battered and bruised the apartment he shared with her was the only place he could think of going.

He hadn't exactly planned on getting physical with Whiskey. Sure he would flirt and tease her, but he hadn't been trying to seduce. But then, he came back she had been there, trying to take care of him despite his foul—and potentially dangerous—mood. Sweet, innocent little Whiskey, who had actually missed him while he was gone, even though she tried to hide it.

_She probably wishes you had stayed gone now, _one of his personalities told him.

_You shouldn't have tried to kill her, even if she did compare you to another guy, _Bobby, who was usually one of his more violent personas, scolded. Despite Whiskey not being imprinted, Bobby still recognized her as Crystal.

These two comments soon started an argument between all of his personalities, all either scolding or defending his attempted murder of Whiskey.

_He's put that poor woman through enough hell, _Paul stated, finally, breaking in to the argument.

Alpha scowled at the man's pompous voice. He had already interfered twice already since he imprinted himself with him (an action he was seriously beginning to regret), once when he was fighting with Echo, and again when he was trying to kill Whiskey. Truth be told he was necessarily sorry that he had intervened either time. He really didn't fancy having his head bashed in with a rock, and he hadn't truly wanted to kill Whiskey. Still, he had enough people trying to have their say without Ballard interfering.

_Wasn't such a good idea imprinting you with me, was it, _Paul taunted, obviously just as annoyed with the situation as Alpha.

_Shut-the hell-up, Ballard, _he commanded, doing his best to push the man to back of his mind. It wasn't as easy as with the other ones.

With a small sigh Alpha rolled out of bed, deciding that if he wasn't going to sleep he may as well start the day.

Claire was in the kitchen when he walked out of his room. Of course she was making coffee, just like she did every morning, already dressed in her clothes and ready for the day.

Alpha stood in the middle of the living room for a moment, debating on whether or not to say anything. She had her back turned toward him; if she noticed his presence in the room she gave no indication of it.

"Do you have to baby-sit today," he finally asked.

"It's Saturday," she replied shortly, by way of answer.

Alpha continued to stand there, trying to think of something to say, and for the first time since he could remember he actually felt..._awkward_.

Hoping some back round noise might lessen the feeling; he sat down and turned on the television to the news. It was the same thing as always; murder, car wrecks, scandals, and politics. Whiskey came and sat down in the only armchair they had, not saying a word to him, not even _looking _at him. Alpha tried his hardest to concentrate on the T.V and ignore her, but he found himself glancing at her every five seconds.

Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh. One of the good things about having no real memories of his teen years was not having to remember the feeling of awkwardness that was prominent in one's life during that time. Now, he found himself tapping his foot on the floor in order to distract himself from her, and the feeling of awkwardness inside of him.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, turning to her, no longer being able to stand her silence. "I really am," he added, seeing her blank expression.

"You're sorry," she repeated, her expression quickly turning to one of outrage. "You can't try to kill someone Alpha, and then the next day apologize for it. It doesn't work like that."

Alpha spread his hands out in exasperation. "Well, what do you want me to do, get you a card? I can't take it back." His voice rose as his frustration increased.

Whiskey scoffed at his words, and scowled at him before setting her coffee cup down angrily on the coffee table and rising to her feet. "Your right, you can't take it back. I hate to break this to you, but Hallmark doesn't make cards for when you try to kill someone."

She pivoted on her heel and stomped off to the front door.

"Where are you going," he called after her.

"To take a walk, I think I need to rethink this living arrangement." She slammed the door before Alpha could give his angry reply.

She wouldn't leave him...she couldn't.

Claire spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, deep in thought. Some part of her mind knew what a foolish thing it was, to wander around on her own when she was supposed to be laying low, not to mention the fact that if she didn't pay attention she could very easily get lost.

Claire could have cared less about any of that; she was still fuming over her conversation with Alpha. After almost killing her last night he had the gall to apologize and just expect everything to be ok? Sometimes she wondered how he came up with that sort of logic, but then reminded herself that his idea of 'helping' Echo was to cut up her face.

A car honked its horn loudly, with a start Claire quickly jumped back onto the sidewalk. She had been so caught up in her thoughts of Alpha that she hadn't noticed the light changing green. Once her heart had gone back down to its normal pace, Claire sat down on a bus bench, tilting her head back so that she was looking straight up at the sky.

'_I think I need to rethink this living arrangement', _that's what she had told him, but if she was being honest with herself there was no way she would be able to live on her own. She couldn't give any real information about herself that even fast food restaurants required. Even if she did know what her real name was, or social security number, in all probability it would just tip off the Dollhouse to where she was at.

There was always going back to the Dollhouse. She hadn't revealed any information about it to anyone, and she was sure Mrs. DeWitt wouldn't mind having her resident physician back again. She would have to tell them what she'd been doing all that time, though….

That one simple fact derailed any thoughts of going back to the Dollhouse. DeWitt would surely want to know where she'd been and how she was able to support herself all this time, and what exactly could she tell her? That she had been Alpha's roommate for the past five months? That would go over like a lead balloon.

Claire stood as the bus pulled up, its doors opening. She paid the driver, and sat in one of the seats with a frustrated sigh. Unless she could think of an adequate excuse to give DeWitt for her whereabouts she was stuck with Alpha. Soon another question was forming in her mind as the bus drove down the streets of L.A. Why hadn't she followed her instincts when Alpha showed up and just ran?

When Claire finally did come back the street lamps had just started to come on. A few hours at one of the local parks and she still hadn't been able to clear her head. She hoped that a good night's rest might be able to change that.

It was dark inside the apartment when Claire swung open the door. That either meant Alpha had gone to bed or wasn't there. It didn't matter either way, however, as long as she didn't have to see him.

As always she set her house key down on the kitchen counter, when she noticed a single white rose laying on the counter with a piece of paper tied around the stem. Taking care not to prick her fingers on the thorns, she picked it up gingerly, and held out the piece of paper. _I'm Sorry._

There was no singnature, but there was no doubt that it was from Alpha. Anger boiled up inside of her. Did he really think that he could win her over with a simple flower. She was ready to throw the damn thing away when she thought about it's color. White. It was her favorite color, hadn't she mentioned that to him? Yes, she remembered now, when she told him that he had pointed out that white technically wasn't a color; it was a _shade_.

The memory made her smile, despite herself. Deciding that throwing out a flower because of the giver was a waste, Claire put the flower in a glass of water and placed it in the center of the kitchen table. Of course, this by no means meant that she still wasn't furious—even frightened, though she wouldn't admit it- with him, but the rose did brighten up the room a bit.

Alpha walked through the front door, shaking his head in exasperation. He had just been to pay the landlord, a woman in her early fifties (something she evidently tried to hide with a thick layer of make-up) who wasn't shy about her attraction to him. The entire time he'd been paying her, she'd been batting her eyelashes at him, puffing out her chest, and calling him doll. The last one didn't bother him as much as it amused him. If anyone needed to rent out a Doll for a date it was her, not that she'd ever be able to afford it, though.

He could hear the shower running, meaning that Whiskey had finally come back. He wondered where she had went exactly. His eyes wandered over to the kitchen counter where he had left the rose had bought for her. It was gone, for a moment he thought she might have thrown it away, but then he saw sitting in a glass of water on the table. A smile crept it's way into his features. No doubt she was still angry with him for last night, but she had accept his gift and that was a start.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a little boring, since it involved a lot of brooding, but the next chapter won't be as ...angsty? I guess that would be the right word. Anyway, review, let me know what you think of it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Man this took forever to get up, I sarted my Advanced Medical Terminology a few weeks ago, so that's taken up a large prtion of my time. At least if I go to the Doctor's I can tell them what's wrong with me, though. In this chapter Alpha mentions that it is October, that is because I started this chappie in October.**

**Chapter songs: Chemistry of A Car Crash- Shiny Toy Guns, Love Me Dead- Ludo(you must watch this music video)  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse. **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Five**

Whiskey was still distant from him, though perhaps not as cold as she had been, Alpha hoped to remedy the situation by spending more time with her in a non-hostile way. After all they were living together, so they should be on good terms, or at least on the best of terms as possible.

"Night-mare on Elm Street," Whiskey asked, unimpressed, when he suggested it. He was leaning against the counter next to her while she loaded the dishwasher.

"Why not? After all it is October, and it would be a good way to unwind for the weekend.

Whiskey finished loading the dishwasher with an impassive look on her face "Sorry, but I don't find watching people be murdered a nice way to, 'unwind'. I can see how you would, though," she said, giving him a pointed look.

Alpha gripped his chest in mock hurt. "That hurts Whiskey that really hurts. There's more to me than just the sadists and assassins. There are a couple good boys in here, too."

Alpha could have sworn that he saw the corner of her mouth twitch in amusement before she turned her back to him to finish tidying up the kitchen.

_Good, keep it light, _one of his lover personas urged. For once he decided to listen to some of his kinder imprints.

"Come on, nothing in this movie can be scarier than me or DeWitt for that matter."

Whiskey turned from the counter she was wiping down, a somewhat exasperated expression on her face. "Fine, since you'll probably just watch it any way."

Alpha grinned triumphantly. "Excellent, I'll make the popcorn."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Alpha and Whiskey sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them. They were only about ten minutes into the movie, but he was already bored. Contrary to what Whiskey believed he didn't enjoy horror movies. They were too predictable. The only reason he picked it out was that he thought Whiskey being afraid of something other than him would be a nice change.

She certainly seemed absorbed in it. When he glanced over at her she had her knees pulled up to her chin with her arms wrapped around them.

_Perfect, _Bobby stated. _Now when she starts to get scared, just scoot on over next to her and put your arm around her, then go in for the kiss._

_This is _not _a plan to get into her pants_, Alpha growled. _This is just a way to try and fix what happened._

_Damn it, weren't you the one that said, 'love the one you're with'? Just forget about Echo for two seconds._

"Shut up," he hissed irritably

Out of the corner of his eye Alpha saw Whiskey glance over at him and then refocus her attention back to the screen. It wasn't the first time she had heard him argue with one of his personalities.

Suppressing a sigh, Alpha pushed the Bobby persona down into his mind.

For almost half the movie they said nothing to each other, other than him making the standard, 'oh how cliché', horror movie remarks.

Claire just responded with nodding. Where Alpha found the movie silly, she seemed completely engrossed. Whenever a suspenseful part of the movie came up she would hug her legs tighter.

"I never would have guessed you were so affected by horror movies," Alpha remarked after she had actually jumped in response to one scene.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a horror movie," she admitted sheepishly. "Not to mention the fact that bits of my life feel like a horror movie." At this she gave him a pointed look.

"I'm guessing most of the horror movie bits involve me?"

"What do you think," she asked sarcastically.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that when I'm not tormenting you I am also not killing sexually active teenagers."

"Of course not," she said, sarcasm still evident in her voice. "You're too busy planning how to win over Echo's heart."

Alpha's smile faded. It had been a few weeks since his last meeting with Echo, but it was still a sore spot for him. Not only had she'd once again refused to see that their love was true, but he had ended up with _Paul _stuck inside his head. The latter being his fault seeing as it was his idea, a fact Ballard was keen on reminding him of.

"Believe me that's not something I'm doing now." A look of apprehension crept over Whiskey's face, making Alpha realize that he was scowling and that she probably was afraid he might attack her again.

He quickly softened his expression, and flashed her, what he was sure was one of his most charming smiles. "Why do you care? Jealous? "

She rolled her eyes at him just like she usually did when he started to flirt with her. "Not a chance."

"You know we did almost have sex once, right?" Alpha smirked as he watched Whiskey struggle to keep her expression blank. She wasn't succeeding.

"You're just trying to bait me."

"I'm afraid not, little Whiskey. You and I were imprinted as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, for some guy who wanted to be in his own Barrow gang. We went off-mission and, well, one thing led to another..." He trailed off, smirking.

Whiskey looked away from him, a flush entering her cheeks. "Let's just watch the movie," she muttered.

They watched the movie in silence a few more minutes before she spoke up again. "You said we, 'almost', slept together. It didn't go any farther than just...kissing?"

For a second he was tempted to tell her yes, that he had just been toying with her and they had slept together like he had implied right before he tried to kill her. But he stopped himself, knowing that it would only push her away further.

"There was more than just kissing, but we didn't sleep together." Whiskey's anxious expression relaxed and he could almost see her breathe a sigh of relief.

"You really have the Dollhouse security to thank for intervening. If they hadn't shown up we would be having a completely different conversation." She rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention back to the movie. Alpha just smirked to himself. He'd only been telling her the truth.

They were silent for the rest of the movie, and as soon as it ended Whiskey got up and announced that she was going to bed, leaving the room before he even had the chance to say anything.

She was still angry at him, he could tell by how she acted around him. Her anxiety over whether or not they had slept together was the most emotion she'd shown around him since that night. Usually her expression was as blank as the Dolls around him, though perhaps not quite as innocent looking.

Why was it that he even cared how she acted around him anyhow? If he remembered correctly he enjoyed terrifying people, having that kind of power over them so that even someone as composed and cold as Adelle shook in his presence. Whiskey hadn't been able to hide her fear half as well the first time he'd snuck into the Dollhouse. She had tried to compose herself, answer his questions in a strong voice, but they had only come out in a whisper. That was Whiskey; always trying to be strong, always trying to be her _best_.

_She really is the closest thing you have to a friend_, one of his imprints mused.

Alpha gave a small start at this statement. He had never considered Whiskey and himself friends. The thought made him chuckle mirthlessly. You'd think a man like him wouldn't need friends with all the people inside his head.

_I'm sure it must be refreshing having conversations that take place outside of your head, _Paul remarked.

Alpha scowled and let out something that was a cross between a growl and a sigh. There had been too much interference from his imprints for one night. Grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch he stood and walked out the door. Fresh air had always helped cleared his head when it got too crowded with opinions.

* * *

As soon as the bedroom door was closed Claire the long T-shirt from her drawer and began to change, though she wasn't really concentrating on what she was doing. How was it that he always knew which buttons of her's to push? She was beginning to suspect that one of his imprints must have been psychic. Back when she still had no idea she was a doll she had gone through Alpha's file, wanting to see if there had been any clues that could have warned them of his rampage, and also because she had wanted to know more about her attacker. She remembered reading about the Lars engagement when he and another active –herself, but she hadn't known that- went off-mission.

Claire hadn't thought of it since she found out the truth. Leave it to Alpha to bring it up. No matter how many times she kept telling her that she hadn't been the one that did all those things alongside Alpha. It had just been an imprint, but wasn't she just an imprint? Did acting outside of her programming make her an actual person?

Sighing she walked out into the hallway, intending to get a glass of water. The T.V was still on, but Alpha wasn't in the living room watching it. Instead there was a tall dark- haired man dressed completely in black from head to toe.

Claire let out a surprised gasp as the man marched towards her.

* * *

The night air was a nice, warm temperature, just like it usually was in California, but with the occasional cool breeze to remind everyone that it was autumn. There wasn't anyone else out on the sidewalk that Alpha walked down. This would be a comfort to most people, but Alpha just knew that it made getting attacked easier.

He walked a few blocks before turning back to the apartment building. He was only a few feet from the main door when he noticed the man sitting in the black van across the street. Any normal person wouldn't have given the van a second glance, but Alpha knew where that particular van had come from. Keeping his head low, he walked across the street, his hand resting on the knife he always kept ready in his pocket.

* * *

Claire wasted no time running for her bedroom, but the man was right behind her, giving her no time to close the door and lock it. She sprinted towards the far corner of the room where she kept her baseball bat. Grabbing it she turned and swung at him, but he ducked, easily avoiding it.

Holding the baseball bat in front of her, Claire tried to back up, but only succeeded in hitting the wall behind her. The man smirked at her meager defense, and snatched the bat out her hands, flinging it to the side. Claire could only stand there as he grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"Rossum doesn't like it when people run out on their contracts," he hissed into her ear, causing her to shiver. So he was from the Dollhouse. It made sense. After all, what kind of burglar tried to abduct someone?

The man continued to drag her out of the room and into the hall. He was hindered, however, when he rounded the corner into the living room and was met with a strong punch to the jaw by Alpha. The man let go of Claire, stumbling back a few feet.

Claire quickly scrambled behind Alpha, who was smirking in anticipation. She noticed he had a few flecks of blood on his face. Obviously this wasn't the only man sent to retrieve her, or them, as the case may be.

Having recovered from the sucker punch dealt to him, the man came at Alpha, jumping back slightly, when Alpha struck out at him with a knife.

For a moment Claire just stood back, watching as the two men fought, not sure what to do. No doubt Alpha would be able to handle it, but she couldn't just stand there like the damsel in distress. Her first thought was to go into the kitchen and grab a knife, but the two men were fighting right in front of the entryway, so Claire decided to grab the closest thing to her; the coat rack. She held it out in front of her, much in the same way she had the bat (a part of her mind told her it would be just as useless as the bat, also).

As it turned out, though, she wouldn't need it. The man was a good fighter, and if he was up against a normal man he probably would have won, but unfortunately for him Alpha was no ordinary man. He ducked under a punch aimed for his jaw, and slashed him across the lower abdomen. The man cried out in pain, Alpha took his chance to throw a punch at him, hitting him right in the nose. Claire cringed at the sickening crack of his nose breaking.

Alpha advanced on the man as he stumbled backwards, holding his nose. Claire looked away, knowing what was coming next. She could hear the man falling to the floor, and then seconds later she was surprised by the sound of bones cracking. She looked back to see Alpha holding the man's head between his hands, leaving no room for doubt of what he'd done. His knife lay on the floor beside him.

"You broke his neck," she pointed out quietly.

Alpha picked up his knife from the floor, then stood and faced her. "Slashing his throat would have been too messy, taken too long to clean up. The more time it takes for them to figure out we've left, the more time we have to get off the radar before the Dollhouse is on our trail again."

He stooped down next to the body, and then looked back at her, a quizzical look on his face, "Why are you holding the coat racket?"

Claire slowly looked down at the coat racket she still held in her hands, a somewhat sheepish expression on her face. "It was the first thing I could grab."

Alpha began smirking, though he looked as if he was holding back laughter. "That would have been about as useful as the baseball bat."

"Shut up," she muttered, her mind was still reeling from the attack. Speaking of which...

"What are you going to do with the body?"

"I'm going to hide it," he answered simply.

Claire blanched. "What? What do you mean you're going to hide it?"

"I mean, it would look a little conspicuous for us to be walking down the hallway, carrying a bag of trash the size of a man."

Alpha stepped over the man's arm and grabbed him under the arms, then stood, lifting the man up as he did so. "Go ahead and pack a few clothes, we're leaving in ten minutes." With that he dragged the body down the hall and into his bedroom.

Claire stood there rooted to the spot, the sound of the man's neck breaking replaying over and over in her head. She wondered where he was going to hide the body. In the tub? Under the bed? How long would it take for people to discover? The human body didn't take very long to start decomposing, most likely the smell would lead them to it, and then of course bugs would start to congregate. Claire shook her head, trying to block out the image of the man's decomposing body she had managed to think up.

Swallowing, she put the coat racket back in its proper place and sprinted to her bedroom. Once there she pulled out a few pairs of clothes she would take- it wasn't too difficult to choose seeing as she didn't have that many—only to realize she had nothing to put them in. Alpha probably did though. Claire grimaced slightly, not pleased by the idea of interrupting 'hiding' the body, but she didn't want to have to carry what few belongings she had in her arms.

Letting out a sigh Claire padded down the short hallway and reluctantly knocked on Alpha's door. _Oh God, what if he's cutting up the body like in the, 'Tell-Tale Heart'? _She thought frantically, as waited for him at the door.

When he did open the door there was no trace of blood on him, to her relief. He looked down at her with a slightly annoyed expression. "What? I'm kind of busy covering our tracks right now."

"I need a bag to put my stuff in," she explained.

His annoyed expression softened. "Oh, hold on a second." He turned and went back into the room, giving Claire a partial room of his bedroom.

She had lived with him almost seven months and had never seen the inside of it, even when he was gone during the summer. From what she could see the bed was unmade with a black duffel bag on it, and clothes were strewn around on the floor. On the bedside table there were several pieces of tech that looked like they belonged in a computer.

Alpha came back holding a brown backpack. "Here," he said handing it to her. "Do you have any kind of cell phone, or other technology that you use?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't even keep a cell when I was in the Dollhouse."

He nodded once before shutting the door again. Claire walked back down the hallway into her room. She threw what few clothes she had into the backpack, and then looked around the small bedroom. It was bare, she had never bothered hanging anything on the walls, and she didn't really have any personal belongings, but it still felt like home. It still felt safe.

When Alpha set a time limit he stuck to it. Claire had been standing out in the living room wondering if she straighten up to make things look more normal when he came out of his room a duffel bag, and laptop case slung over each shoulder. She followed him downstairs, and out of the apartment complex. He led her to a black van.

"This is the Dollhouse's." She would have recognized one of them anywhere. They must have seriously underestimated her to send out one of the vans to retrieve her. Had she seen it she would have left immediately.

Alpha opened the back door and threw his duffel bag in it. "We're going to drive this for a while, then steal another car. It'll make tracking us easier if we steal one in the immediate area."

He walked up back to the front of the fan. "Get in," he ordered, walking past her and opening the door to the driver's seat.

Claire quickly walked around the front of the van, getting in through the passenger side. "So, this was just sitting out on the curb," she inquired, while he started the van.

"There was someone in it, waiting for his buddy to come out with you no doubt, but I took care of him." He pulled away from the curb quickly but without making the tires squeal on the pavement.

Claire supposed that she should to be grateful to him for saving her from being kidnapped and sent back to the Dollhouse, but whenever she thought of Alpha breaking the man's neck her stomach churned. A trail of bodies always seemed to follow Alpha, and her, it seemed. If he had the right imprints he never would have been able to dodge the Dollhouse for so long.

"Why do you keep me around," Claire asked.

Alpha glanced over at her, one eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"

Claire took a deep breath. "Staying under the radar would be easier if you were by yourself. You don't need me for anything, so why let me stay with you?"

"You're...my friend." He said it uncertainly, as if just coming to that conclusion.

Claire blinked in surprise. "I am?"

"Yes. Friends help each other out."

That was probably the simplest thing he'd said since he composited, it actually sounded like something a wiped Doll would say. Maybe some of the Doll programming was still in his brain; after all it was never technically wiped from him. Claire wasn't sure what to make of it, though.

She touched one of her scars, and couldn't help but think of how he, 'helped', Echo. But when she glanced over at him while he drove, he didn't seem as sinister as she had always seen him.

* * *

**One more chapter and an epilogue guys. The end is nigh (I think that's how you spell it).**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I suppose you have Sailor Moon to thank for this being up. Her review is what made that little voice inside my head say, 'hey, remember this story? The one that was supposed to be finished in December?' So, yes, a nice round of applause for her.**

**Disclaimer: Joss owns everything except the crabby desk man. Crabby desk man is property of moi.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The clerk silently punched in the credit card number, while surreptitiously glancing at the couple, a Mr and . The man was athletic looking with short strawberry-blond hair. The woman was tall with short, dark hair. The two were obviously newlyweds, fawning over each other as they were; neither took any notice of him. He suppressed a sigh. He wished he could be honeymooning with a beautiful woman at a four-star hotel.

"Here's your room key, sir." He handed the man his credit card back along with the room key interrupting whatever the man had been whispering into the woman's ear.

Saying a quick, 'thank you', the couple walked off. The clerk let out a sigh when he realized he still had another two hours before he got off.

"Remind me again, why are we posing as a married couple," Claire asked, as Alpha slipped the card key into the slot. There was a small beep as it unlocked.

"Because it won't raise any suspicion if people think we're married." Alpha swung open the door, stepping inside the room. Claire followed, listening as he continued. "Not to mention that the Dollhouse is looking for two, separate, rogue actives, not a happily married couple."

Claire sat on the couch, setting her bag down next to her. It was a nice room, there was a living room with a small kitchen attached in the corner, and down the hall was a bedroom. It almost reminded her of the apartment they used to live in.

"The only problem with that is that we're not a happily married couple." she pointed out.

Alpha threw the card key down on the kitchen counter then turned to her, a smirk playing around his lips. "I don't know. We could be."

Claire's eyebrows shot up, and she gave him a petrified look. "Please tell me that isn't a marriage proposal."

Alpha chuckled. "No, I just meant that we could be a couple. It's not like we haven't played a couple on the run before."

"I don't think engagements count as past experience. At least not for me anyway." She stood. "Besides, if, 'Bobby and Crystal', are our only basis for a relationship then I think that makes us both a little crazier than we already are."

With that being said she walked off to her room (or rather _their _room seeing as there was only one bedroom) closing the door behind her. Claire flopped down on the bed with a contented sigh it'd been two months since they'd had to flee their apartment. Since then they had left Las Angeles and California behind, and headed for Washington. Half the time they lived in either a hotel/motel or a car. Alpha insisted they had to keep moving around in order to, 'stay under the radar'. She was all for avoiding the Dollhouse, but she hoped that this time they could at least spend an extra few days at the hotel. Yawning, Claire grabbed one of the pillows next to her and hugged it to her chest, then drifted off peacefully.

When she woke up the clock read eight in the morning. She'd been asleep for almost twelve hours. After days of driving that was the best night of sleep she'd gotten in a while Claire rolled over on her back and stretched, then noticed the blanket covering her for the first time.

She sat up and looked around the room. There was no sign of Alpha. Claire got up and walked out of the room, finding him sitting up in the pullout bed of the couch watching T.V. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and saw that he was watching something on ancient civilizations.

"So, how long are we staying," Claire asked after a few minutes.

He looked up at her, then shrugged. "I don't know, a few days maybe?"

She let out a sigh. "How much longer are we going to keep doing this?"

Alpha frowned. "Doing what?"

"Driving from town to town, never staying in one place for more than a few days."

"We have to keep the Dollhouse from finding us," Alpha said firmly.

"I know," Claire said, sounding exasperated, "but it's been two months I don't think it would kill us just to lay low in one place for a while."

"That's why I do all the thinking, dear," Alpha said with a superior tone. Claire suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Months ago she would have been offended her, but she'd learned to just ignore it when Alpha acted arrogant towards her.

"Besides," he continued, "I thought you were over your aversion to the outside world."

Claire looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She hadn't liked anything to do with the world outside the Dollhouse before she left. She had gotten over it enough to leave, but she still didn't like being around crowds or spending copious amounts of time outside.

"I am," she told him. "I just don't like moving around all the time."

"You probably would have hated the place I stayed right after I escaped the Dollhouse."

"That defunct power plant," she said skeptically.

"Ah, I see you kept up with my case." He smiled at her winningly.

"Most people want to be as informed as they can when there's a psychopath on the loose," Claire said flatly, getting up from the bed and moving into the kitchen to fix herself breakfast.

"But it doesn't matter how informed you are about me." Claire could hear Alpha getting up from the bed and padding across the living room as she prepared a pot of coffee.

"I can get in and out of the Dollhouse as easily as walking in and out a of a door." Claire fought the urge to jump when Alpha came up behind her and put his arm on the counter next to her, effectively cornering her. "Isn't that right," he whispered in her ear.

A chill went down Claire's spine at their close proximity. She had grown- dare she say it- comfortable around Alpha in closed spaces after driving with him in a car for hours, but this brought back to many memories of the night he first broke into the Dollhouse.

She turned and pushed him away with an arm, which wasn't easy with him being twice her size, but he gave easily. "You don't need to inform me of how good you are at breaking in to places."

She turned her back to him again turning on the coffee maker. Alpha didn't try to get up close to her again.

"I can teach you how to pick a lock, you know."

Claire let out a laugh. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

"Oh, come on." Claire still had her back turned toward him but she could almost see the smirk on his face. "It could be fun, just you and me breaking into places. It'd be just like old times."

Claire turned to tell him that those, 'old times', weren't real, but Alpha didn't give her a chance, as soon as she turned he was right there in front of her, his face inches from hers. Before she could do anything Alpha closed what little space there was between them, pressing his lips against hers.

Claire let out a muffled gasp, her eyes widening in surprise. She turned her head away from him, pushing him away.

She looked back up at him to find him staring at her curiously. "Should I have given you warning first?"

Claire scoffed. "Warning? You shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"Oh, come on. You can't ignore the attraction between us."

Claire gaped at him, half expecting him to start smirking, but he just stared a her his face completely serious. There was an intensity in his eyes that made her look away again.

"What ever attraction you might feel is from any imprints that had engagements while I was a Doll," she told him quietly.

"I know the difference between imprint attraction and attraction that I feel on my own. You feel the same way, I've seen it in your face," he insisted.

"Then you're obviously mistaken." Claire did her best to make her voice sound cold and unattached, which she succeded in. It was something she had always seemed to excel at, she wondered if it was an imprinted trait or just something she developed on her own.

Of course, Alpha wasn't impressed by it at all. In fact, it seemed to amuse him. "Prove it then," he took a step closer to her, "kiss me and if you are utterly disgusted-though with my skills you shouldn't be- I'll drop the whole thing."

There was a brief moment when Claire actually found herself considering it, but then she just scoffed and pushed passed. Something nagged a the back of her mind, though, causing her to turn around.

"You're convinced that Echo is your eternal soul mate, so why are you pushing this with me?"

Alpha smiled at her wryly, something she had never seen him do before. His smiles always had a manic glee to them. "I'm just taking my own advice."

As with most things concerning Alpha, Claire thought it best not to ask. She turned on her heel and walked out the door. Maybe they had some coffee down stairs.

Hours later she was sitting on the now folded up couch, flipping through channels. With a sigh she stopped on one of the news channels. She hated just sitting around doing nothing. In a way she missed working at the Dollhouse, because at least she had work she could do to occupy her mind. She was considering taking a shower when Alpha came bursting through the door, dripping wet from the pool.

"That pool is fantastic, perfect temperature," he proclaimed, flopping down on the couch next to her. "Maybe you should come with me next time."

Claire scowled at him. "You're wet, get off the couch."

"What am I, the dog?"

When Claire continued to glare at him he got up with a sigh. "Fine, honestly you need to learn how to relax."

Minutes later he reemerged from the bedroom dressed in a pair of jeans and simple T-shirt. He flopped back down on the cough throwing an arm around her.

She turned her head and glowered at him. "Do you mind not touching me," she snapped.

"Oh, but I do," he said with a grin. "I suppose I'd be willing to back off, though if you just prove you feel no attraction towards me."

Claire raised one eyebrow skeptically. "I kiss you and you'll back off?"

"No, you kiss me and feel nothing, then I back off. You kiss me and like it, then we get to relieve some of this, ah, 'tension' shall we say?" He chuckled to himself.

In way of answer Claire took his hand and shoved his arm away from only prompted him to grin playfully at her.

"_In breaking news the headquarters of the major medical research corporation, Rossum, was attacked by terrorists today." _

Both Alpha and Claire snapped their attention to the television.

_"Yesterday afternoon at approximately 3:30 a.m. a bomb went off on the fourth floor. No deaths are confirmed but several people were injured, as well as millions of dollars worth of research being destroyed."_

The camera cut to a skyscraper with smoke billowing out from it and a crowd of emergency vehicles and police outside of it. A large crowd of people had already formed outside the building. At the edge of the screen Claire glimpsed two familiar faces in the crowd.

"DeWitt," Claire murmured in surprise.

"Ballard?" Alpha proclaimed in evident shock. "Topher must have done some major rewiring to get him up and walking again."

Claire glanced at him questioningly, but didn't say anything. She was trying to get a better view of Ballard and DeWitt but they were just at the edge of the camera making it hard to see them. She couldn't be sure but she thought she saw Echo standing behind Paul, then the camera shifted upward to get a better view of the demolished floors and they were gone.

"Looks like Caroline got put back in Echo," Alpha remarked with a sour note in his voice.

Claire looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I read up on Caroline, turns out she was quit the little terrorist before Rossum picked her up. As a matter of fact she set off a bomb in their building before, that's how they got to her." He chuckled mirthelessly. "I think they've started to regret their decision not to press charges on her"

Claire thought back to the experiment they ran on the actives back before she found out she was one. She remembered how with her personality intact, Echo had been willing to do anything in order to do what she thought was right. Still, though, Echo hadn't exactly been a blank slate when she left, leaving Claire to wonder if the explosion was really all Caroline's doing, and of course there was DeWitt.

"Things must have gotten bad at the Dollhouse for DeWitt to be involved in this," she mused.

" Especially since she was more than willing to give up Echo to save her own skin last time we talked." Claire's eyebrows shot up in surprise at this. Adelle had always been a firm believer in protecting her actives. It made Claire wonder what exactly had been happening at the Dollhouse while she'd been away, apparently a lot.

"What do you think happened to the Dollhouse," she asked Alpha, turning to him.

He leaned back on the couch, interlacing his fingers behind his head as he thought. "Rossum probably took possession of it if DeWitt is there, or she might not have wanted to be at the Dollhouse where Rossum could easily find her once they found out it was one of her actives that blew their building up."

They both continued sitting on the couch to watch the scene in Tucson, though nothing further was confirmed. Eventually becoming bored Alpha turned the television off, Claire had no objections though. After what she just saw on the television she needed time for it to sink in.

"What do you think they'll do now," she asked after a few moments of silence.

"Probably lay low and avoid Rossum. Kind of like what we've been doing for the past few months." She could hear the shrug in his voice.

"So you're not at all curious about what happened? What led to Echo setting off a bomb in the Rossum building?"

"To be honest I don't really care what happens where they're concerned." There was an intensity to the way he said this. The same intensity that always accompanied his words when he felt particularly strong about something. Or just when he was feeling particularly violent, it depended on what day it was, but this was something she couldn't let go of. If Echo and others were mobilizing against Rossum she wanted to at least know about the details.

"Then you're just going to pretend that nothing is happening?"

Alpha scoffed and got up and walked into the kitchen where he began pouring himself a glass of Jim Beam."I'm not pretending anything, I just don't care."

Claire stood and walked over to him so she could face him. "Could you just monitor the Dollhouse...as a favor?"

Alpha raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And why do _you_ care what happens to Echo and the rest of them? I thought you left the Dollhouse to get away from all that?"

"I left the Dollhouse," she said clearly, enunciating each letter, "because I couldn't deal with knowing I was a doll, I thought if I left I could move beyond being a doll."

Alpha's face was impassive as he regarded her. "And?"

Claire hesitated at this. Had she moved beyond her programming? In a sense she had just by leaving the Dollhouse, but beyond that? She supposed she had, though there was still that fear in her that she would have to give her body back to whoever was using it before. Would Adelle really make her do that? More importantly was it fair of her to want to keep the body when it really belonged to someone else? Claire shook her head. Those were thoughts for another day, she need to concentrate on the now.

"I have, but I still want to know what's going on. I think it would benefit both of us since it would also give us an idea of whether or not Rossum is still pursuing us."

Alpha regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, taking a slow drinks for his glass. "Alright, fine, but if I decide that monitoring the Dollhouse is no longer useful to me or I get bored I'll stop."

Claire could hardly believe it. Alpha had actually agreed to do her a favor, feeling unusually grateful she threw her arms around him, causing some of his drink to spill.

"Thank you." She pulled back.

"Is that all it takes for your affection," Alpha asked, looking down at her in amusement. "If that's so then what do I have to do for a kiss?"

Claire felt the heat begin to rise in her cheeks. "I'm not a prostitute Alpha. I was just happy that you agreed to do me a favor without extorting me."

"Well, you know technically you were a prostitute, I mean you did-"

"Ok, please just stop talking," Claire asked, holding a hand up. "It won't do either of us any good if I slap you."

Alpha just gave her his signature smirk. "What ever you say." He drained the rest of his drink and set it down on the counter. "So let's say that I do find Echo and the rest, would you join them?"

Though Claire hadn't really though about it herself she had a feeling she would. "I suppose, there's a good chance that I would. What about you?"

Alpha let out a short, mirtheless laugh. "Me? Sorry but I have no interest in being one of Echo's girl scouts even if they didn't try to kill me on sight."

"What if I convinced them otherwise," she offered.

Alpha raised one brow in surprise. "Hmmm, I don't know, maybe."

They stood in silence a few moments longer. "It's late, I guess I'll go ahead and go to bed."

Alpha nodded. "Yep, try not to have nightmares."

"Thanks," she said witheringly. She turned to go into the bedroom then, feeling impulsive she turned back around and pressed her lips into his. After only a few seconds she drew back.

Alpha raised both eyebrows. "...anything," he asked, posing his earlier question.

Claire hesitated, then smirked. "Hmmm, I don't know, maybe."

Alpha looked down at her with a blank expression for a moment then began to chuckle. " I suppose I set myself up for that one."

Claire flashed him a smile before turning on her heel and headed for her bedroom feeling almost-dare she even think it- happy. 

* * *

**Personally I'm a little iffy on the ending but for the most part I did like this chapter and already know how I want to do the epilogue so I'm excited for that. I'm still deciding on which ending I want though, the Joss ending or the other one? Hmmmm...stick around to find out and if it takes more than two weeks feel free to PM me reminding of my story's existence.**

**I have an unfortunate short attention span I'm afraid.  
**


	7. Epilogue

**Okay, final chapter. I would just like to say a thank you to everyone who added this to their favorites, alerts, and reviewed;**

**Sakura Katana, Chicago Brown, WonderfallsOnDaisies, Maaiikee, Like-Vines-We-Intertwine, butimbroken, TopherBennet, o0Kayleeo0, Sailor moon fan, Whiskey's Original Personality (The Wife of Remus Lupin), Viscy Whiskey Poo, JenniferTvgirl, geekers, ray1, Likewow5556, -Athena's. Wise. Girl.-, DreamingofkillingAnneBoleyn  
**

**Overall I'm pretty satisfied with this story even though I feel like I wrote Claire and Alpha slightly out of character. This was originally only meant to be three chapters but somehow ended up being twice as long. :)**

**Chapter songs: Mad World- Tears for Fears, Imaginary- Evanescence**

**Disclaimer: All things Dollhouse belong to Joss Whedon and to a lesser and undeserved extent Fox.  
**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Whiskey calmly walked up the stairs to the fuse box as if the sounds of the fighting butchers were a million miles away instead of downstairs. Those kind of things had no effect on her. After all, she knew what she was supposed to do. She walked up to the fuse box set in the wall and opened the door, then pulled the latch that would make them all fall asleep.

_ "Sleeping gas? That seems like an odd security measure, even for DeWitt."_

_ Claire stood next to Alpha as he began hooking up wires in the fuse box._

_ "It's a precautionary in case we get attacked by a large group," he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "This way instead of being outnumbered two to one we can just pull a little switch and they all go nighty-night."_

_ He put the cover back over the switches and and closed the fuse box. "I'm actually surprised you agreed to do this," she admitted. _

_ Alpha raised a brow questioningly. "And why is that?"_

_ Claire let out a short laugh. "Please, with your 'superior being' attitude you used to have I didn't think your pride would let you."_

_ "I'm just glad I could do this since Echo refuses to let me do anything important or tell me anything for that matter," he said glumly, scowling._

_ "They've only been around you for a few months, just let them get used to you."_

_ He sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." He grinned playfully at her. "At least I have that other rogue doll to keep me company at night."_

_ "Careful with her," Claire said, somehow managing to keep a straight face. "I hear she once let a bunch of rats loose in Topher's office."_

_ Alpha slid an arm around her drawing her closer. "Did she now?"_

The white gas began to billow out and spread acrross the bottom floor slowly knocking the butchers out and causing them to drop one by one. The gas began to rise toward the second floor as Whiskey sat on the edge, slipping her legs under the banister. She could have gone with the others but she knew where her place was.

_ "Claire, come on we have to go."_

_ Claire kept her back turned toward Echo as she stood in her office. "I'm not going," she said flatly._

_ "What? What do mean you're not going?"_

_ She sighed and turned to face Echo who was staring at her in disbelief. "I need to stay here so I can tell other people who come here where the compound is, and if Alpha is able to find his way back here..."_

_ Echo's expression of disbelief turned to one of sympathy. "Claire, Alpha knows where the compound is. He's most likely to show up there."_

_ Claire scoffed. "Even Alpha can't fight his way out of a city of butchers on his own. Besides that isn't the only reason I'm staying here, that's only part of it, like I already told you."_

_ Ballard appeared behind Echo. "We're ready to head out."_

_ Echo didn't respond to him. "You'll go insane," she said._

_ She shrugged. " Haven't I done that once already?"_

The gas had begun to reach the second floor and tendrils of it were already reaching her. Whiskey laid her head down on the rail contet in knowing she had been her best. She soon found herself immersed in the gas and sleep quickly followed seconds later.

* * *

It was obivous from the small crater in the floor that someone had been there. It didn't come as a surprise to Alpha. Many of the actuals had taken to hiding underground so it was likely a group of them had stumbled across the roof entrance to the Dollhouse. He knelt down in front of the widend hole and surveyed the pipes and rubble surrounding it. He slung his battered pack off his back and pulled out coiled up rope and a flare stick. Taking out an old lighter from his breast pocket he lit the flare and let it drop to the floor down below. It didn't light much but it revealed enough. There were the remains of gas swirling around and what looked like a few dead butchers. Alpha's heart clenched when he realized who was most likely responsible for setting of the sleeping gas.

_ "What the hell do you mean she isn't here?" Alpha looked around the small kitchen and met the gazes of several guilty expressions._

_ Echo was the first one to speak up of course. "She said she wanted to stay so she could help other people find out where the compound is, and that if you found your way back to the Dollhouse she wanted to be there."_

_ Alpha stared at Echo balnkly, not understanding the last part. "Why did she think I would go to the Dollhouse?'_

_ "We told her you got seperated from the group last time we were in the city," Ballard explained. _

_ Alpha gitted his teeth in frustration and began pacing the room, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to yell and scream at them for being so stupid as to let Whiskey stay in that place, but he knew that there was nothing they could have done to make her go short of kidnapping her. Maybe if he had been there, though...he shook his head, knowing it was pointless to dwell on the 'what if's'. _

_ "We have to go back and get her back," he said turning to face Echo again._

_ "There's now way," Victor said from his seat next to Sierra. "The city was filled with butchers last time we left."_

_ "So we just leave her there?"_

_ "There's nothing else we can do." Echo's voice was firm but her expression was somber._

_ Grounding his teeth in frustration, Alpha stalked out of the room, punching the wall next to the door as he did so._

It was slow going as Alpha carefully lowered himself down into the Dollhouse by rope. While he did so, he couldn't help but wonder with a wry smile how many times he was going to break into the Dollhouse. He had a piece of cloth tied over his mouth and nose so the dissipating gas wouldn't affect him. Once he touched down on the ground and held his gun in a ready position just in case some of the butchers somehow escaped the gas.

He surveyed the main area and other than several unconsious buthcers it remained eerily the same as it had the day he left. His eyes were roaming the second floor when he saw her. She was sitting on the edge of the second floor with her head resting on the banister and her legs dangling carelessly over the edge.

"Whiskey," he breathed. Glancing at the unconsious butchers to make sure they were still knocked out he sprinted up the stairs and ran to her his gun to his side he carefully took her into his arms and checked her pulse; slow but steady. It'd been almost six years since he'd last seen her. The scars were still gone. She had done that shortly before he'd left. He still couldn't help but to touch the place on her cheek where one of them had been. She looked much paler than he remembered but that was only natural after spending years underground.

He wanted to stay with her until she woke up but knew that he had to take care of the butchers before they stirred. He carefully picked her up and carried her over to the couch in Topher's office (which was still filled with the same toys fueling his already eery sense of deja vu) where he laid her down gently. With a sigh he began the grueling task of dragging each butcher up the stairs in order to put them in the chair and wipe them. At first he considered tying them up just in case the gas wore off but it didn't seem like it'd been that long since they'd been knocked out judging by the lingering gas.

In all there were twelve butchers. That meant twleve cylces of dragging a heavy body up the stairs and heaving it into the chair. Twelve cycles of, 'did I fall asleep' and 'for a little while'. Alpha honestly didn't know how Topher could have stood the same monotonus routine day after day but then again he supposed that Topher did have the fun of constructing different personalities and didn't have to drag his actives up the stairs. After wiping them he would make them go down in the main area to sit or just read one of the books that were laying around.

Once the last butcher had been wiped Alpha sunk down in Topher's office chair with a relieved sigh. He had long since removed the cloth covering his nose and mouth since the gas was completely gone and his gun lay next to him on the desk within reach just in case of any nasty surprises. There was still work for him to do, even with the butchers all wiped. He still had to get them proper clothing and try to see if there was any food left in the place. Then of course he would have to do a full sweep of the place in order to make sure there were no ways in which butchers could enter. For now though, he was going to rest, if not for a few minutes.

"Alpha?"

Alpha shot up in the chair and turned to the couch where whiskey was sitting up looking at him with a composed yet curious expression. Alpha rose from the chair and took a seat next to her on the couch.

"Whiskey," he asked quitely, hardly letting himself believe he was actually talking to her again after all these years, "are you alright? Do you feel nauseous? Does your head hurt?"

"No, I just feel tired." Alpha winced at how active-like her voice sounded. Fear constricted his heart at the thought that somehow she had been wiped underground, but he was good at suprressing feelings and imprints alike and quickly pushed it down.

"Do you remeber me," he asked tentatively.

"Yes," she answered in a voice that he thought sounded less monotone than before. "You were my friend, but then you went away...they all did."

Alpha fought down the guilt of leaving her just like he had done for years and concentrated on what her answer meant to her state of mind. It was vague to say the least but she did remember some things which was good. Independent of programming or not she had been formed from an imprint making him wonder if it had some how detoriated over the years making her revert back to her active state.

"Do you remember being a doctor?"

She tilted her head, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "...Doctor...I remember a doctor, he was nice. I used to wear a lab coat just like his."

"Would you like to be a doctor," he asked the gears in his head already in full motion.

A smile stole over her lips, illuminating her eyes. "Yes, doctors help people and that's what I want to do."

Had Alpha been in a normal state of mind seeing her give him a genuine smile would have made him happier than he had been in years, but his mind was in a frenzy. He was laying out a plan and the qualified imprints were filling in any missing pieces. If he could get a scan of her brain he could probably rebuild her Doctor Saunders imprints and then retrieve her memories. His mind was so far ahead that he was already imaging what his first conversation would be with her.

Alpha hopped up from the couch, his previously dull, tired body became animated at the thought of getting his Whiskey back. "Whiskey, would you like a treatment?"

"Do you need to find the way to safe haven," she asked, the smile now gone from her face as she looked up at him expectantly.

Alpha was momentarily caught off guard by the unprogrammed answer, but he quickly shook it off. "No, I want to make you better with a treatment."

"I don't want a treatment," she said with more force than Alpha thought she was capable. For one of the few times in his life Alpha felt surprised.

"You don't want a treatment?"

She shook her head fiercly. "But a treatment will make you better," he told her in the same sickening sweet voice the handlers used, hoping that it would trigger the programmed, 'yes', in her mind.

"No, treatments just make people dissapear."

Alpha looked down at Whiskey uncertainly and she gazed back up at him stubbornly. He felt certain he could get Claire back if he just got her in the chair, but he couldn't do that if she didn't want to. Of course he could always force her in it, but having been forced in the chair at one point himself he dissmissed the idea almost as quickly as it formed.

Alpha sighed and held out his hand for her. "It's okay, you don't have to get a treatment."

She looked down at his hand ponderingly for a moment before accepting it and allowing him to pull her to her feet. He would just have to convince her over a period of time, but for now he had other things he needed to do.

"Whiskey, do you think that you could help me with some things," he asked quietly.

She nodded. "There are actives downstairs that need clothes and food, do you think you could get them some?"

Her face lit up at the prospect of being useful. "Yes, I'll do that right now." She let go and walked out of the office, Alpha watching her wistfully as she went the feeling of her hand still on his.

_At least she's still alive, _Paul said sympathetically.

"Thanks, but I don't feel like looking at the silver lining right now Ballard." He turned and grabbed his gun from where it lay on Topher's desk and headed down stairs to make sure there were no places any butchers could get in.

Everyday Alpha would try to convince Whiskey to have a treatment and every time she would obstinately shake her head and look away, going back to tend to the actives. She loved looking after them, either forgetting or unaware that they had been mindless killing machines. Alpha didn't think she would have cared either way as she seemed to enjoy taking care of people just as much as she had when she was Claire, making Alpha wonder if she really had wanted to be a doctor. He eventually stopped asking her if she wanted a treatment, and reigned himself to the fact that they could never have what they had before he left. There were times when he thought she remembered, though; she would push down his hair when she thought it was 'a mess' or put her hand on top of his when they sat next to eachother.

Alpha put all his work into looking after the actives and found a certain measure of peace in it, helping him to push down the memories of the last decade. It was a little over a month when Echo and everyone he never expected to see again showed. Everyone expcept Ballard, that is. News of his death hurt more than he expcted it to. Being in the Dollhouse reminded him of how much he used to hate Ballard, which gave him a bitter sense of irony at the pain of his loss.

None of them were suprised at the state of Whiskey. If anything they were suprised by the fact that she was still alive. She was going to be wiped along with the rest of the world. He had asked Adelle to make sure of that. After all the trauma Whiskey has recieved she needed a new start. So did he, which was why he left, but not before giving Echo the last piece of Paul left in the world.

Alpha couldn't bring himself to go far, though. He instead situated himself in one of the buildings across the street from the Dollhouse. Luckily Echo and the rest seemed to have driven back the butchers from the immediate area. While he waited for the inevitable Alpha wondered if he really would lose all his memories of the past ten years. If he did he hoped that he would at least still be kind to Whiskey.

A flicker of movement on the streets below caught his eye and Alpha glanced out the window to see Adelle leading the actives out from the Dollhouse. His eyes scanned over the group until he spotted Whiskey in her white dress, looking around herself curiously but otherwise at ease. He didn't take his eyes off of her until the blast came.

* * *

When Summer woke up she expected to find herself in the chair at the Dollhouse, not a Mad Max-esque street. Warily she sat up, surrounded by a dozen or so other people doing the same. Only two people were standing, a man, helping a little girl up and a woman silently watching the group. Summer thought she looked familiar...with a start she realized that it was Adelle DeWitt, the woman who had spoken to her about the Dollhouse. Except unlike their last meeting(which felt like only an hour ago) she was not dressed neatly with a cool demeanor. Instead she was dressed in baggy, worn-out clothing with a tired, yet determined look in her eyes.

Summer caught her gaze but then the person next to Adelle began talking to her adamantly, no doubt demanding to know what was going on. Summer got to her feet began to really take in her surroundings. All around her were broken down cars, some on fire, and hollowed out buildings with most of the windows broken. One was in particularly bad shape with it's roof and what appeared to be some of it's floors blown off. It looks like a war zone, she though as she looked around. While she was doing this she spotted a man walking out from one of the buildings.

He was of average height with strawberry blonde hair, and was dressed in shabby clothes not unlike Adelle. Except he was carrying a gun in his hands. Summer got an overpowering sense of deja-vu when she looked at him. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her and started to walk over. For a brief moment she thought about walking in the opposite direction but then discounted the thought as silly. She had a strong feeling he wouldn't hurt her.

"Whiskey," he said softly when he reached her.

She wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Uh, sorry, no Whiskey here and I'm pretty sure all the bars are gone."

The man's mouth twitched in what could only be amusement. "Very funny, but I think you need to tell me what's going on." His voice adopted a more forceful tone that sent chills down her spine but she fought down her fear.

"I'm not kidding, I have no idea what's going on," she insisted. "I just woke up lying on the ground and everything was like this."

"So you remember nothing about the Dollhouse," he asked.

"You know about the Dollhouse?" That was something she never thought would come up in a conversation outside the Dollhouse. Then again maybe it wasn't so strange after waking up in the ruins of a city.

"Yes, I was a former active there. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Getting into that chair."

"Ahhhh." The man, who had been staring at her intently, slowly allowed his face to relax. "You must have been reset somehow." His gaze swept over the group of confused people milling about. "Everyone must have, myself included. I guess cutting the head off of the snake didn't work after all."

Summer gave him a blank look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He smirked at her. "Poor Whiskey, you're always left out of the loop, aren't you?" Something about his patronizing tone struck a chord of familiarity in her, and she felt like she'd faced down that smirk before.

"You don't seem to know much more than me," she retorted. "Unless you'd like to tell me why this city is in ruins?"

"No," he admitted and she was to surprised to see an actual smile playing around his lips. "I can tell you a little more about yourself, though. Your active name was Whiskey at the Dollhouse, that is until they programmed as the resident doctor, then you were called Claire. You eventually left as Claire and lived with me."

Summer scoffed in disbelief but she was finding it difficult to doubt him. "So, you're saying while I was programmed as a doctor we shacked up?"

The man's smirk widened. "Something like that."

Summer wondered if he was always that infuriating when they had lived together, if he was telling the truth about them that is. "What happened after we started living together?"

He shrugged. "Not much we lived together for a little under a year, all the while avoiding the Dollhouse. Last thing I remember we were actually looking for some other people who were actives."

"Then you have no idea what led up to this," she gestured to the mess of a city they were in.

He shook his head and then she watched as his eyes settled on something past her. "I know someone who could probably tell us, though." Summer followed his gaze to where it settled on Adelle who was looking thier way.

"Adelle?"

"Of course, she's the only one here that doesn't look confused."

She sighed, he was right. In fact she had intended to question Adelle herself before she started talking to him. "Yea, I guess."

His face split into a grin. "Now, that's my Whiskey, always the reasonable one."

"Would you stop calling me that," she said irritably. "My name is Summer."

Both his eyebrows shot up. "Summer? Never would have called that one. I don't suppose you remember my name do you?" He looked down at her wistfully.

She shook her head.

"Alpha."

"Alpha? That's not a name."

He grinned. "It is a name, it's my name. Now maybe we should go have that chat with Ms. DeWitt now?"

She nodded and he started to walk forward but she caught his arm. "What?"

"Maybe I should take the lead," she said. "After all a woman in a white dress is going to look alot less threatening than a man carrying a huge gun."

He regarded her a moment before shrugging. "I suppose it's best, especially after what I did last time I was at the Dollhouse."

For a moment she wondered wildy what he had done but then decided that it could wait until later. Alpha stood to the side and allowed her to walk ahead following along behind her. She could see Adelle watching them expectantly as they walked towards her. Summer found herself becoming more nervous with every step she took. Looking at the destruction around her she was almost afraid to hear the explanation behind it. However, she kept walking, bracing herself for what was to come.

* * *

***ducks behind table* ...Okay, I realize that wasn't exactly a fairytale ending and that it was a bit open ended but when I finished writing that last line something about it felt so final that I knew it was the right ending. Originally I though about Whiskey dying in the Epilogue(that was the Joss ending) but I liked this idea much better.**

**By the way I got Whiskey's original name from Buffy's last name. I wasn't sure what to name her and just decided to take a name from one of Joss's other works. Speaking of which a Dollhouse comic just came out about what happened when the world was mass wiped and focuses on the characters introduced in Epitaph One. A five issue mini-series is also coming out in the summer and you can read about it on  
**

**Thank you for reading.  
**


End file.
